Dalit bodies up in arms against Hegde, say he called them ‘streetdogs’

Union Minister for Skill Development Anantkumar Hegde was in the news for the wrong reasons again on Saturday, after remarks made by him at a function triggered protests by Dalit organisations.

It all started when leaders of these organisations held a black-flag demonstration on his arrival for the inauguration of a job fair in the city. Bellary MP B Sriramulu tried to pacify the protesters.

Addressing the participants of the job fair, he said, “We are determined to uplift you, no matter what. We cannot be bogged down by some streetdogs staging protests.”

He lamented that today speaking English was considered a skill, even as our own languages were taking a backseat. “Why should we speak a foreign language,” he asked.

The protestors construed that the word streetdogs was a reference to them. They held a black-flag protest once again as the minister was coming out after taking part in a meeting with industrialists at a city hotel.

Union Minister for Skill Development Anantkumar Hegde was in the news for the wrong reasons again on Saturday, after remarks made by him at a function triggered protests by Dalit organisations.

It all started when leaders of these organisations held a black-flag demonstration on his arrival for the inauguration of a job fair in the city. Bellary MP B Sriramulu tried to pacify the protesters.

Addressing the participants of the job fair, he said, “We are determined to uplift you, no matter what. We cannot be bogged down by some streetdogs staging protests.”

He lamented that today speaking English was considered a ‘skill,’ even as our own languages were taking a backseat. “Why should we speak a foreign language,” he asked.

The protestors construed that the word streetdogs was a reference to them. They held a black-flag protest once again as the minister was coming out after taking part in a meeting with industrialists at a city hotel.

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